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Home/ There’s A Beauty / Chapter 71 (Part 1)

You Shu originally thought that after leaving the body, his soul would go directly to the Underworld Hall like a dream before, but he never expected himself to appear on a wide road. This road has no way to see where it began, and no way to see where it ends. On both sides, there are bushes of thorns and flowers, with black mist lingering in the air, making the surroundings look very gloomy and oppressive.

Many people brushed past him, with expressions of pain or numbness on their faces. They were all skinny and ragged, some walking alone, some dragging their children with them, and their walking speed increased, as if something was attracting them in front of them.

Could this be the Huangquan Road? Thinking like this, You Shu also followed the crowd and walked forward. Because the flow of time in the Underworld is synchronized with the time of the mortal world, he must return before tomorrow morning. After all, his body is still lying in the prison, and if his soul has not returned to the body by dawn, the officials will judge him to be dead and then dig a hole and bury him. 

What’s worse, they may also erase the soul-leaving talisman from his forehead, leaving him stuck forever in the underworld.

Due to the urgency, You Shu had to push aside the ghosts on both sides and rush forward. As a result, he accidentally ended up knocking down an old woman and quickly bent down to help her.  

The old woman stood up with a groan and looked at him a few times before exclaiming, “Oh, isn’t this the County Magistrate Xiao Zhao? You, why are you also dead? What about my son, daughter-in-law, grandson and granddaughter? What would they do?”

As the old woman spoke, she burst into tears, attracting the attention of the ghosts around her. It wasn’t until then that they discovered that a living soul had sneaked in, and it was still the soul of the Suichang’s parent official. 

The underworld is the reflection of the mortal world, which means that the underworld is as wide as the mortal world. Unfortunately, this Huangquan Road is the official road for the ghosts of Lishui Prefecture to go to the underworld, and these are the souls of all those who died in disasters.

Their number has reached over hundreds of thousands, squeezing the huge Huangquan Road to the fullest. Some were even squeezed into the thorn bushes beside the road due to their weak souls, and their legs were covered with blood.  

However, if you take a closer look, you will find that most of them come from other counties. There are only a few ghosts from Suichang, just because Suichang has a good official who worked hard and died to protect the people, even donating all of his wealth to support land and water.

People from other counties felt that they were not lucky enough to meet such a good official, but this doesn’t prevent them from admiring County Magistrate Xiao Zhao. 

On the way to the underworld, as long as they meet the ghosts of Suichang, they will definitely go over and talk to them, repeatedly recounting how County Magistrate Xiao Zhao saved lives and helped the people. They all eagerly look forward to being born in Suichang after reincarnation, thinking that this is a real way to survive in the world.

Recently, many people have also died in Suichang, but they didn’t starve to death, but died from a plague. This is something that cannot be helped.

Like that old woman, she died from the plague. She was transferred to the quarantine area by the County Magistrate Xiao Zhao, and had food and medicine to drink every day. 

On the day of her death, the magistrate personally took her pulse and administered a powerful dose of medicine. However, because of her old age and frail body, she couldn’t make it through. Seeing large bowls of good medicine being wasted on her dying self, the old woman felt extremely ashamed and repeatedly demanded that the County Magistrate Xiao Zhao should stop treating her. 

However, the County Magistrate told her: Every life is precious, and he will not give up on anyone until the last moment.

These words made the old woman burst into tears and then she passed away with a satisfied smile on her face. Because she knew that with the presence of the County Magistrate, her son, daughter-in-law, grandson, granddaughter… everyone would surely be able to live peacefully. Born in Suichang in this lifetime, living under the rule of County Magistrate Xiao Zhao is truly worth it.

Therefore, one can imagine how sad and desperate she was when she met County Magistrate Xiao Zhao on Huangquan Road.

You Shu had an amazing memory and he quickly recognized the old woman. He quickly patted her back to comfort her and then explained the matter briefly. The ghosts around them heard that this was the famous County Magistrate Xiao Zhao, and they all pricked up their ears to listen. 

At this moment, the crowd became excited and immediately cleared a straight path like sea water splitting. They shouted loudly, “Make way for the dead ghost in front, this is County Magistrate Xiao Zhao! He has been wronged, and is in the midst of life and death. He must go to the underworld hall to beat the drum of injustice. Give way, give way quickly!”

The old woman also pushed You Shu on the back, urging him to leave quickly.

“Is it really County Magistrate Xiao Zhao of Suichang County?”

“Quick, quick, move aside! Don’t delay the urgent matter of County Magistrate Xiao Zhao!”

“It’s rare for Dayong to have such a good official, why can’t they tolerate it? It must’ve been that bastard Wang Xiangcai! He definitely won’t have a good death in the future!”

“It’s really County Magistrate Xiao Zhao. He personally served me rice porridge! I recognize him! Make way for him!”

The dead souls moved aside when they heard the shouts, tapping and poking each other’s waist, passing the news all the way to the front. 

Then miraculously, a passage quickly opened up on this endless Huangquan road, allowing You Shu to pass smoothly.  

As the road became more narrow, many dead souls were squeezed into the thorn bushes and were injured all over their bodies. However, they had no complaints and kept urging County Magistrate Xiao Zhao to leave quickly.

County Magistrate Xiao Zhao is not only the blue sky above the heads of the Suichang people, but also the mirror in the hearts of the villagers in various counties. Such a good official must not die in the hands of those beasts.

Seeing this scene, You Shu had some mixed feelings, but due to urgency, he couldn’t stop to bid farewell to everyone. As he ran towards the underworld hidden at the end of the darkness, he shouted “thank you” loudly.

After running for an unknown amount of time, a majestic city tower finally appeared in his vision, with a ghost guard holding a sword and halberd at the city gate, questioning the passing ghosts. 

Before You Shu could get close, many ghosts started waving to him, “County Magistrate Xiao Zhao, come here, we have helped you occupy a spot!”

It turns out that there is still a queue to enter the city, so when the ghosts saw County Magistrate Xiao Zhao come here, they naturally gave him priority.

Amidst a series of ‘thank you’, You Shu walked up to the ghost officer and spread out his arms for the other party to inspect.  

The ghost officer sniffed and exclaimed in surprise, “Why are you a living soul? According to the rules, a living soul is not allowed to enter the city unless…” He twirled his thumbs with a greedy expression.

This is Huangquan Road of the Lishui Prefecture, and the ghost guards responsible for guarding the city are naturally the souls from the Lishui Prefecture. By coincidence, the captain of the guards happened to be from Suichang. 

Hearing the words, he walked over quickly and almost slapped the guard’s head off, cursing, “You bastard! You even dare to make trouble for our County Magistrate Xiao Zhao! Let me tell you, the Lord of the Underworld has changed a long time ago. If you still can’t get rid of your bad habit of taking bribes, I will sue you, peel off your skin, put you in a frying pan, and throw you into the hungry ghost path!”

The guard trembled with fear and quickly knelt down to apologize. The captain didn’t care about him, and he just grabbed You Shu and headed towards the city. 

Walking to an archway, he pointed out, “Your Excellency, just go up and beat the drum of injustice. Some ghost will come and take you to the Underworld Hall. Don’t be afraid, in this boundary of Lishui Prefecture, no ghost will dare to harm you.”

You Shu couldn’t see it himself, but the captain guard had some moral virtue, and he could faintly feel the golden light of merit emanating from You Shu’s body. It was a kind of compassionate and warm feeling. Once you get close, the hostility in your body will be purified, and even the most powerful evil ghost won’t be able to harm him.  

Moreover, the reputation of County Magistrate Xiao Zhao has been spread all over the world, including the underworld. I don’t know how many people have his longevity tablets in their homes. The shining light of the tablets is also a way to protect oneself.

You Shu thanked him repeatedly, and then picked up the wooden mallet and pounded it hard a few times. As expected, two ghost messengers rushed over and took him to the center of the city. The captain of the guard waited until he disappeared at the end of the road before returning to his duties.

The group walked very quickly and arrived at a palace. One of the ghost messengers seemed to be confirming, “Are you Zhao Youshu, the magistrate of Suichang County, a living soul, carrying a golden light of virtue, and still a descendant of Xia Qi’s National Teacher?”

You Shu thought this was a routine inquiry and nodded. The two ghosts looked at each other, with a faint smile in their eyes. They immediately changed their route without leaving any trace and brought You Shu to a gloomy underground palace. 

A ghost left for a while, saying that he was going in to report. After a moment, they hurriedly ran over and slapped You Shu’s forehead with a black token in their hand.

A black light flashed past, followed by a burst of dizziness. When You Shu regained consciousness, he found himself standing in an empty hall, which was supported by eight pillars carved with mysterious runes. Each pillar was connected to thick chains, ultimately tied to a fierce ghost with blue-faced fangs.  

The fierce ghost sat cross-legged in the center of the eight pillars, and the surrounding floor tiles were also painted with array patterns, constantly flickering with light.

Upon carefully examining the array formation, You Shu could not find anything similar to it in the old man’s inheritance. However, based on a few runes in it, he inferred that it should be a seal formation, with its driving force being the ghost spirits of the underworld.  

In other words, if the sealed ghost wants to regain its freedom, it can only wait until the day when there are no more dead souls in the underworld. As long as a soul comes within three feet of the formation, it will be automatically absorbed and becomes the nourishment for the array formation.

How can the underworld be called the underworld if there are no dead souls here? From this, it can be seen that this fierce ghost has a great background, and the people who suppressed him should be even more skilled. 

You Shu’s heart was filled with doubts, and he already realized that he had been calculated. Bringing his living soul here to corrode the stagnant energy in the formation with anger, and with the blessing of virtue and golden light, the formation may be destroyed. If unfortunately, the eye of the formation gets destroyed, this fierce ghost will be able to break free in an instant.

He immediately avoided it from far away and watched quietly.

The fierce ghost waited for a long time but did not see You Shu falling into the trap, so he had to wave at him, “Are you Zhao Youshu, the magistrate of Suichang County? I heard that you have some grievances to complain about.”

I thought that those two ghosts who sent me here must’ve told him the situation beforehand. But what the hell is this? Why are you opening your mouth to ask me about my grievances? If I hadn’t seen the real King of the Underworld, based on the tone of this fierce ghost, I would’ve really regarded him as the King of the Underworld.

“This one is indeed Zhao Youshu. May I ask who Your Excellency is?” You Shu cupped his hands.

“You came to seek justice from me, but you still asked me who I am?” The fierce ghost stood up and shook the black imperial robe on his body.

You Shu pointed to the pillar and then to the chain, silently expressing his doubts. It’s better for him to speak less until the situation is discovered.

The fierce ghost’s eyes were bloodshot, with a hint of anger, but he barely suppressed it and pretended to sigh, “It’s a long story. This king was originally the Lord of the Underworld, but was usurped by a devil from hell and sealed here in the underground prison. Can you see that the world now is plagued with floods, droughts, corruption of the officials, and dishonest monarchs? 

He continued, “These are all heavenly punishments caused by the demon’s usurpation. If you don’t release this king to reorganize the world, sooner or later the world will turn into hell, and hell will turn into the human world. You are a rare good official, how can you abandon the people? By saving this king, you can save the people, save Dayong, and save the whole world.”

He said so much, but You Shu only paid attention to one point, “The devil from hell? What does that mean?”

“It’s not hell, it’s ‘hell of hell’. When ghosts die, they also go to another hell. There are eighteen levels of hell, and the ‘hell of hell’ is still under the underworld. It is a place where all ghosts, monsters, and demons cannot set foot. The current Lord Yama was imprisoned in that ‘hell’. I don’t know what means he used to replace me as the King of the Underworld. He also killed my twenty-four prison masters and ten palace kings, and finally replaced them all with his confidants. It is precisely because he caused trouble in the underworld that the mortal world is now filled with grief and hunger.” 

After he finished speaking, the fierce ghost sighed again, but due to his ferocious and ugly appearance, he did not look compassionate, but rather terrifying.

You Shu took a slight step forward, as if persuaded.

The fierce ghost’s eyes emitted an ecstatic light, but he quickly covered it up, anxiously waiting for him to approach. 

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